Hidden Storms
by Orange Soda and Pretzels
Summary: A bush girl, an ice queen, a ginger, and a reindeer man walk into a castle...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

* * *

She found her bent over piles of paperwork at her desk. Her sister's hair was sticking up in odd places, braid unkept and unwashed. Her eyes were painfully zeroed in on the fine print, muttering the words before her. Anna hated seeing her so stressed all the time.

_All work and no play makes Elsa a dull girl._

The younger girl tip toed forward, avoiding certain squeaky floorboards. She quickly shot out her hands to cover the queen's eyes. Her victim jumped, relaxing when she realized it was only Anna.

"Before you ask, I don't have time to build a snowman, Anna," Elsa said, pushing her hands away, "this law needs to be passed soon. You know that."

"But-"

"I don't care if the sky is awake or not I need to finish this." she replied, tone warning her not to ask again.

Anna sighed dramatically and unceremoniously threw herself onto the queen's desk, nearly knocking over an inkbottle.

"There is no way I'm letting you get away with that answer. The last time you went outside was for-never ago, and that was to tell me dinner was ready, nothing more. I'm not moving, or shutting up for that matter, unless you agree to join me for an evening stroll at the least. Seriously, if you don't get enough sun you'll be paler than Olaf. There is literally nothing you can do to stop I, Anna of Arendelle, from staying right here and babbling on and on unti-"

The redhead's eyes widened with shock and indignation as ice froze over her rambling mouth.

_Oh no you didn't._

The girl leapt up off the desk and began to give her sister the sternest, quietest talking-to ever known to the history of Arendelle. Elsa's irritated expression melted into laughter as she watched her flail her arms around and express herself with flamboyant hand gestures. After about five full minutes of the livid interpretive dance, the blonde finally showed mercy.

"… _and another thing_!" The girl shouted as the ice disappeared from her lips.

Elsa erupted into laughter as Anna stopped midsentence, her face a mixture of surprise and confusion.

When the queen had regained her composure she set her quill down and stood up.

"I think a walk would do me good."

* * *

Autumn was Elsa's second favorite season (winter obviously being the first). She loved the brisk wind, the way it tickled the back of neck and carried the scent of the bright, crisp leaves. She loved hearing the crackling of leaves under her shoes, or the clear blue sky contrasting with bright reds, greens, and golds. The dappled light patterns on the forest floor, the small animals gathering food, and even the excitement of Halloween. She loved it all.

Anna however, did not.

"I think," she sniffled, "that I would like this season a lot more if I could make it through a simple stroll without catching a cold."

The girl shivered and let out a short cough.

Elsa rolled her eyes and handed Anna her scarf. The cold never bothered her anyway.

The wind picked up, snatching the fabric from Anna's relaxed hands and dancing off into the woods.

"Is this even real?" The redhead muttered and began sprinting after it, her sister not far behind. Elsa'a muscles groaned in protest as she took off after her sister. Sitting at that desk for months on end had truly taken its toll. Her lungs burned and her sides ached. Soon the older girl was struggling to keep up. Meanwhile Anna had pulled ahead until she completely vanished into the trees.

"Anna, wait!" she called after her, but there was no response.

_Damn scarf._

The blonde leaned against a tree as she caught her breath, admiring the leaves above her. She watched as a crow settle on a bush and begin exploring the plant for food. Suddenly the bush rustled, causing the bird to take to the skies.

Elsa blinked.

The bush was still.

Cautious, the queen picked her way over roots and around branches as she approached the bush. She came to a silent stop, slowly parting the prickly branches and peeked her head inside the bush.

Nothing.

Laughing quietly to herself, Elsa turned away and began searching for Anna.

Only to trip lightly over a root, crashing into a pile of nature.

The bush rustled again, this time pushing a figure out into the clearing.

The form started running away, but tripped right over Elsa, landing with a slight 'oof' on the ground. A girl scrambled backwards, expecting her to give chase. Her eyes darted around fearfully, trying to discern the source of the threat. Once she realized that the queen posed no actual threat lying in a pile of leaves, she gave a little wave.

"Hi?"

"Hi."

The two just stared at each other, trying to make sense of the situation.

_What is this girl doing in a bush?_

There didn't seem to be any real reason for her to be hiding in a plant. About Elsa's age, the girl had a nice black dress, of all things, embroidered at the collar with small red flowers and gold stems. The neckline went to her throat but dipped back down again into a 'V'. Long black hair and startling green eyes completed the overall regal look. But there was something about the girl's eyes that threw her off. How they seemed to stare at a point directly above her head…

Elsa suddenly realized she'd been staring so she picked herself up and brushed off the leaves from her dress, extending her hand to the girl.

"Elsa."

The girl huffed and stood up on her own, ignoring the outstretched hand.

"Melanie."

The blonde awkwardly withdrew her hand, wishing Anna was there to ease the tension.

Sadly, she got her wish.

"Elsa! I got the scarf! It was stuck in a tree so I ran past it, but then I backtracked here and-" she stopped.

"Who are you?"

Melanie snorted, "None of your business, peasant."

Elsa winced. _Here we go._

"_Excuse me_?" Anna shouted, pride wounded for the second time in an hour.

"I'm sorry, _Your Majesty, _but who exactly do you think you are?"

Stepping in, Elsa answered for her.

"This is Melanie. She was…hiding in a bush."

"Is that so? And that makes me the peasant? You were _in a bush!"_

Melanie's cheeks colored.

"Yeah? Well I don't need to take this. It's been a pleasure meeting you. Now if you'd excuse me, I have more important things to attend to than talking to the likes of _you._" She said before unkindly before spinning right around and running straight into to an oak.

"Ow."

The sisters stared at each other. Melanie was piece of work.

"Are you okay?" Elsa asked

"You deserved that," Anna declared at the same time.

"I'm _fine_." The girl growled as blood began pouring out her nose. Somehow Elsa doubted that.

"Here, let us take you back to the castle. You can use this scarf to stop the blood."

Ignoring Anna's protests, Elsa helped Melanie up and gave her the scarf. Accepting there was no point in arguing, the girl began walking in the wrong direction, one hand out in front of her.

"The castle's the other way!" Anna shouted after her.

"I know where I'm going!" she shouted back before falling into a small stream.

The sisters winced again as Melanie put a hand in a fire ant pile to help herself out of the water.

"Do you think…?" Anna whispered to her.

"Yeah." Elsa replied.

"She is definitely blind."

* * *

After the girls had gotten their guest bandaged and dried, they led her to the dining room for dinner.

Melanie and Anna had been firing snide remarks back and fourth for the past hour, one never getting the better of the other. Thankfully, they were all silent as they sat down to eat. As they were being served, Elsa realized Melanie might not be able to use the elaborate silverware setup before her. To her surprise, as soon as the plate was set before her guest, the girl expertly picked up the right fork and dug in like she hadn't had a decent meal in months.

Anna must have had the same thought (but not the decency to keep her mouth shut).

"Jeez, when was the last time you've had a full meal?"

"Months." Melanie replied, her mouth full.

Elsa could tell by the curious gleam in her sister's eye that she suddenly wanted to know Melanie's whole life story. The blonde glanced at her sister.

_Let me ask the questions._

_Come on, why can't I, _Anna silently pleaded with her.

Elsa tilted her head.

_Melanie hasn't exactly taken a liking to you. I doubt she'd want to tell you much._

Anna sighed and nodded her head.

_Fine._

Clearing her throat, the queen turned to her guest.

"Why haven't you eaten? With a dress as nice as that I could never have guessed you to go hungry."

Melanie stopped chewing. Her face went blank as she set her fork down.

"I ran away from home."

Elsa sensed that wasn't the whole truth but didn't press her.

"And why is that?"

The girl paused, seeming a little unsure.

"Because…"

Melanie straightened, putting on an air of fake confidence.

"Because they didn't accept me for who I am."

Anna looked over at Elsa, thinking how her sister could relate to that.

"A lesbian."

Anna looked back over at Melanie. Maybe not that.

"Oh." Elsa said a little surprised.

The guest quietly turned back to her meal.

Anna blinked a couple times.

Elsa shot a glare at her sister.

_Don't you dare say anything._

"Where was your home?" Elsa continued on casually, picking her fork and knife up.

"A little left-over bit of the kingdom of Aragon."

"Aragon?"

"Most people think it was completely dissolved but a little bit of it is still alive near the coast.

"Sorry but where exactly is Aragon?"

"Spain."

It was Elsa's turn to blink in surprise.

"Spain? You ran away from Spain?"

"Mhm."

Anna looked like she was about ready to burst. Melanie was a lot more interesting than she originally thought. Soon she had stood up,

'Urgh this interrogation is going way too slow. I noticed you're blind. How were able to get all the way here blind? Also, why don't you have much of an accent? You do speak Spanish right? Now that I think about it, you do look kind of like a Spaniard. Not that that's a bad thing. You're gorgeous. I mean, I'm still mad at you. Anyways. Why did you run all the way here? Where were you trying to go? Have you heard anything about Arendelle recently? Anything strange? Because it's actually quite a story. You see, Elsa-"

Elsa drew her hand across her throat frantically, signaling Anna to stop.

"-Has a law to pass!" Anna finished awkwardly.

Melanie stared blindly in the redhead's direction.

"You don't shut up do you?"

Elsa put her head in her hands, about to give up.

_I can tell this is the start of a beautiful friendship, _she thought sarcastically.

She continued to eat in silence, letting the two other girls bicker throughout the entire meal. To anyone who didn't know her sister, they would have thought Anna genuinely hated Melanie. But Elsa could tell she enjoyed someone who matched her in strange comebacks and roundabout arguments. _Maybe if we kept Melanie around a little longer, I can finally keep Anna distracted and finish some work for once, _she thought, finishing the last of her food.

Anna made it seem like Elsa never played with her in the last few months but the truth was she had convinced her to go on a walk with her almost everyday. And because of that Elsa was way behind on her duties. The queen could tell her sister wants to be like they could've been when they were young, but there just wasn't enough time for that.

_There must be some way to make time for other people._

She sighed and refocused on the current conversation. A fight over if rainy days were better than sunny ones.

"Who wants _constant _heat all the time? Rain cools the day off and keeps things nice and relaxed." Melanie was saying.

"But that means being cooped up inside _all day. _That's so boring!" Anna shot back.

"Is this really necessary?" Elsa asked timidly.

The two glared at each other.

"I suppose not." Melanie grumbled. They both sank back into their respective chairs.

The blonde sat quietly at the the head of the table. Now she missed the chatter.

"Why don't we prepare for bed? We can discuss further plans about Melanie's stay in the morning."

They grumbled in agreement, sliding moodily away from the table. Melanie started walking in a random direction before stopping, not sure if she was about to run into a door or fall into a pit of crocodiles.

"Here," Elsa said, moving quickly to her side, "I'll help you find a room."

She hesitantly took Melanie's hand and led her done a series of turns. The queen watched as her guest's eyes narrowed in concentration, trying to memorize how to move about the castle. She began to notice little habits Melanie had, now that the girl had gone quiet. It seemed instead of having her head tilted up like Elsa, she generally stared at the ground but at the same time maintaining perfect posture. When Elsa let go of her hand as they reached where she would be staying, the guest folded her hands neatly in front of her.

_She has poise for a runaway girl._

As she led Melanie into the guest room she had been expecting to have to show her where things are. The blonde was surprised to find herself misjudging her once again.

She watched as her guest landed on the bed with perfect aim and began pulling off decorative pillows and carefully pulling blankets back. It wasn't until Melanie's hands flew up to her head as if to grab something that wasn't there when it all clicked into place.

"You were royalty weren't you."

Melanie's sightless green eyes darted towards Elsa's general direction. She slowly nodded a confirmation, knowing she was too awful a liar to deny it.

It explained her knowing how to handle a fancy silverware setup, the fancy dress, as well as the rude '_peasants'._

"Sorry by the way, about the whole peasants thing. I didn't know you were, well, _una reina."_

Elsa was surprised. That was the first time she heard her apologize for anything. Or even sound _kind _for that matter.

"Apology accepted," she granted a little quietly. Melanie didn't respond. Instead she just smiled oddly and began taking her hair out of the pulled-back style she had it in.

Elsa sat in a small chair in the corner of the room, watching Melanie wrestle with her hair for a few moments as if it wasn't perfect enough as it was. _Wait, what?_

Breaking the silence, she searched for a topic of conversation.

"So what is the whole story behind you running away, anyway?"

Elsa winced. Maybe not the best choice of topic.

Melanie took her hands away from her hair and set them in her lap.

"I can't really tell you. I mean I _could _but I met you practically three or fours hours ago. Maybe if or when I get to know you better. But not now, you know?" Her guest was staring shyly at the floor. This was not the same girl who took Anna on in backtalk a few minutes ago.

The queen nodded. She could definitely respect that, especially after watching her sister try and marry a man she met _that day._

A tense silence followed. Melanie let out a slight cough, causing Elsa to realize she couldn't see her previous nod.

"Oh! Sorry, I nodded because I forgot...well you know. Sorry I left you hanging I just...sorry." She gave herself a mental kick.

_I'm being even more awkward than Anna._

Melanie laughed, "No it's fine I don't mind I just...need to change and-"

"Oh. OH. Right, right. Sorry again."

"It's fine."

"I'll just leave then-"

"Alright. Good night I guess."

"Night."

Elsa shut the door behind her. That was weirder than it should have been. She let out a deep breath and walked down the hall to her room. When she looked down to turn the door handle, she noticed a soft covering of frost on her fingers.

_Huh. Probably nothing._

But that night, for the first time in forever, she let her door stay open, if only just a little.

* * *

**Sorry for meh beginning, I promise I'll make the coming chapters more in depth. It's just...writer's block, ya know?**

**Anyways instead of sitting here and complaining I'll just get on with it.**

**This story marks the beginning of a new FanFiction account! Hopefully resulting in a variety of fandom works. A friend came to me complaining about the lack of a certain Frozen prompt and we decided to change that. **

**Let's hope this fic doesn't crash and burn**

**-Pretzels**

**(artwork by Furymanura)**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

* * *

"Hey!"

Anna nearly shrieked as she leapt out of bed, slamming her forehead into Kristoff's nose.

"Ow."

"OHMYGOD sorry sorry sorry I didn't know you were there! Jeez are you bleeding? You're bleeding! Here let me go-" Anna trailed off, trying to decide if she should fix her mane or Kristoff's nose first.

"Hang on, feisty pants, don't worry about me, " he said, cleaning up the few specks of blood.

He looked up at the nest of red sitting on top of her head.

"Worry about your hair!"

The redhead stuck her tongue out at him, "Shut up, I just woke up."

Anna looked out the window. The moon was still glowing against the black velvet sky.

"Speaking of which, why are you here at o'dark thirty?" she asked, attacking her hair with a comb.

Kristoff shrugged, "I'm only going to be in Arendelle for the night before we head out again. So I thought I'd pop in and say 'hi'."

"Well mission accomplished" Anna grumbled, but she was smiling inside. Elsa and Kristoff were both so busy but at least she saw Elsa at meals. Kristoff was only in town once a week.

"So what should we do, O Love Expert?"

The ice harvester grinned took Anna's hand, pulling her away from her current task of hair wrestling.

"_Waaait I still look like a lion!"_

"A damn sexy lion, now come on."

Anna covered her coloring cheeks with her hand as Kristoff led her through her bedroom window. Balancing on the windowsill, he then lifted the redhead onto the roof. After making sure she wasn't going to fall, he climbed up after her.

Anna looked down from the castle roof at the darkened ground. Her heart rate increased as the fear of falling into the shadows below became all too real. Her hands clenched into fists, taking a handful of fabric in each. Pupils narrowing with fear, she turned to Kristoff for comfort. _Why am I so scared?_

He started in surprise when he saw Anna's eyebrows scrunch up with worry.

"You're afraid of heights?"

She nodded, _that must be it._

"But I- you're always up here literally singing and dancing. I kinda assumed you liked being on the roof." He admitted, giving her an apologetic look.

"That's different. I just…I don't know," she inhaled shakily, "maybe when I'm singing or something it's not so scary?"

"You jumped off a two hundred foot cliff."

"Desperate times calls for-"

"You jumped across a chasm with Sven."

"I knew we'd make it-"

"You tried to climb a huge rock face without rope."

"What choice did I-"

"You slid down the side of the castle as you were freezing to death."

"Okay you can stop now."

Kristoff glanced at her suspiciously.

"I don't think you're afraid of heights."

Anna looked back at the grass below. She observed the shadows creeping along the trees and single black crow hunched near a swirling dark pond that during the daytime seemed much shallower. The blackened lines of tree bark appeared to Anna as tormented faces.

Kristoff watched her eyes trace those details of the ground below and came to a conclusion.

"You're afraid of the dark."

The girl snorted, "Am not. That's childish. I'm in no way scared of something as simple as-" she cut off in a shriek.

"_What the hell is that?"_

The ice harvester jumped at her sudden yell.

"Jeez, woman what now?"

She pointed at a spot a couple yards away. A growing shadow had sprouted from the side of the castle and was stretching its long dark tendrils across the garden. Kristoff's eyes widened.

"What on earth…"

He stood up and slowly walked over to the section of the roof directly above the strange phenomenon. A few moments later Anna followed.

The shadow had stopped growing but was now beginning to pulse a dark, sinister purple. Kristoff crouched and peeked his head from the side of the roof.

"It's coming from that window."

Anna hesitantly peered over at the window. She had no idea what to make of the darkness pouring out.

Eventually curiosity won over fear.

"Lower me onto the windowsill." She whispered.

Kristoff stared at her in disbelief.

"You're crazy!" He whispered back.

"Just do it."

"At least let me go first."

She opened her mouth to protest but closed it again when she saw the stubborn look in his eye.

"Alright fine."

Kristoff nodded and lowered himself onto the edge of the window before gently helping Anna down with him. Anna reached down and opened the window just enough to allow them to slip inside. As soon as their feet touched the carpeted floor, they froze.

It was pitch black. Anna had been in dark places before but nothing could compare to the absolute darkness before her. The moonlight that had lit the way before had vanished, leaving her to suffocate in total blindness.

"Anna?" Kristoff's voice carried through the darkness with a hint of fear.

"Here." she replied weakly. Holding out both of her arms in front of her, she began to search for a piece of furniture to anchor her to reality.

"Who's there?" a voice even more frightened than her own called out.

_Holy crap is that-_

"Melanie?"

That was Kristoff's voice.

The same dark purple from before appeared before Anna's eyes, dissolving the blackness and letting moonlight filter through again. She blinked, adjusting to the sudden light and the fact that Kristoff somehow knew Melanie.

The blind girl was cowering in the far corner of her bed, a shadow blanketing her face.

Kristoff turned to Anna.

"Why is she here?"

The redhead's mouth was still agape with surprise at the circumstances. He snapped at her, trying to get her to focus. Blinking, Anna relayed the whole story of the bush girl. Kristoff laughed in spite of the situation when she told him about their guest's unfortunate fall into the creek. Melanie scowled, but was visibly calming down.

"How do you know her?" she asked, gesturing to Anna.

"Girlfriend." Kristoff answered simply, taking the younger girl's hand in his own.

Anna's eyes widened. _That's probably the first time he's called me that, _she thought, smiling warmly up at the ice harvester.

_Wait, off topic, focus Anna._

She cleared her throat.

"Back to the subject at hand," she began formally, "I have a few questions myself. One: Kristoff, how do you know Melanie? Two: Melanie, _what even was that?"_

The dark-haired girl instantly curled back up into her shell of shadow.

"Sven and I nearly ran her over this morning so I offered her breakfast. As for question number two," Kristoff glanced confusedly at the armadillo of a girl, "I didn't know about…_that."_

The two of them looked expectantly at Melanie.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She replied unconvincingly.

Her reply has met with a pair of do-you-think-we're-going-to-fall-for-that expressions, lost on her blind eyes.

"What makes you think I'm going to tell you?" she tried, "You nearly killed me and you haven't said a single kind word since we met!"

"May I remind _you-" _Anna began furiously.

"It was an accident," Kristoff cut in, "Besides, we won't judge. We know someone who may have…a similar predicament."

Anna looked back up at him. _He thinks Melanie is like Elsa.__ I guess that kind of makes sense. _She watched Melanie, waiting for a reaction.

The blind girl's eyes noticeably took on a gleam of curiosity at the mention of another person like her. A short battle seemed to take place in her mind before she sighed in defeat and gestured for them to sit. In those few uncertain moments, Melanie had transformed from a frightened child to a regal, welcoming figure.

When the pair had positioned themselves comfortably next to her, Melanie began.

"_Hab__í__a una vez, _I had a little brother and sister, twins. We were part of the royal family. _Mi hermanito_, being the eldest son, was going to be king when the time came. I was fine with that, not wanting to be queen anyways."

She paused; giving Anna a moment to take in the fact that Melanie was royalty. _That explains the 'peasants'._

"I had been born with this curse. The power to control everything dark. It started with the ability to cast shadows where I wanted but it grew into something much worse. Soon I found I was able to bring out dark secrets and fear from inside others, when I wanted. My parents knew about the magic and kept me hidden from the townspeople. My siblings knew as well but they didn't care. They were always begging me to play with them. Before my powers grew into this darker magic, we used to play a game. It was like _Marco Polo _but in the complete darkness that I could conjure up. But once I discovered the power to drive people mad with fear, I distanced myself from them as much as I could.

My sister took it personally. She grew bitter towards me and mutually shut me out. We didn't speak for years. My brother, however, never gave up on me. He would sit in front of my door for hours, trying to coax me out with songs and jokes. Sometimes I would hear my siblings fighting about me. My sister would yell at him to give up and let me be. She said that if I was going to shut them out so heartlessly, they could return the favor. She tried to convince him that their older sister just wanted to be alone, and I wasn't worth their time. He would say that no one wants to be alone and sit stubbornly in front of my door. I loved him for it but hated the pain of loneliness it brought me."

Kristoff reached out a hand and wiped some tears off Anna's face. She blinked, realizing she was crying and quickly brushed the rest away. The story was such a familiar one it hurt.

Melanie continued, "The year I turned twenty one both of my parents became deathly ill. They were not well enough to continue to lead the kingdom so they gave up the throne to my brother. Upon hearing the news, _mi hermanito, _now nineteen, declared as future king that I would attend the coronation, no questions asked. I reluctantly agreed.

I did everything required of me. I stood at the front of the church as my brother was crowned king. I attended the ball. I even made small talk with some princes from the other side of Spain. I had begun to think that I could make it through the one night without messing up. But about half way though the night my sister confronted me. She cornered me near the food table and demanded I tell her why I shut her out. She told me she wasn't scared of a little darkness so I shouldn't be either. I tried to tell her that it was more than that. That my powers consisted of more than just a few shadows. I finally told her of my ability to control fear as well, expecting her to understand. It turns out that even though she was not afraid of a few shadows, she was afraid of fear.

She declared me a monster, screaming my secret at everyone in the room. Some of the guests drew swords that a few seconds ago were only being used for decoration. My brother rushed over and stood between the men with swords and my sister and I. My sister was still screaming. When she suddenly pushed me, I held up my hands instinctively, accidentally letting a small bit of my powers slip through. The magic struck my brother's head. He collapsed and began clawing at his head, shrieking in fear. I drove my own brother mad."

She drew in a shaky breath.

"It broke me. But it also broke my sister. She began shouting orders to have me captured and killed. I ran from the castle. As I fled, my vision somehow began clouding up. By the time I had reached France I was completely blind. I still don't know why it happened."

They sat in silence. Kristoff's expression was radiating sympathy but Anna's was full of understanding and shared pain.

Finally, she broke the silence.

"Can you show us a little of what you can do?"

Melanie's head popped up in surprise. Slowly, she nodded.

The blind girl held a hand up, palm facing the ceiling. A purple glow began to pulse under her skin as swirling dark dust spiraled out of the center of her hand. The black substance twisted and spiraled until a dark snowflake was sitting in her hand.

Anna's heart stopped.

"Why a snowflake?"

Melanie frowned, "I don't know. What's supposed to happen is the most prominent fear in the area takes shape but no one's afraid of _snow_."

Kristoff and Anna shared a glance, silently agreeing not to tell her about Elsa's little incident.

"So," Kristoff said, changing the subject, "what are you going to do now?"

The snowflake disappeared from her hands.

"I don't know. The only plan I have is to find a place to live the rest of my life in."

Anna brightened instantly, "No need to fear, m'lady. You can just stay here until you figure out any further plan."

"Oh no no no. I don't like to stay in one place for too long."

"Look, or don't look I guess 'cause, you know…anyways. You have traveled from flipping _Spain _all the way over here. I think you can afford a month or two of staying in one spot. Plus Elsa is always busy and I could use some company."

Melanie thought it over. Here Anna was, so hostile a couple minutes ago, now inviting her to stay in her home for a month. She went over the facts. She was blind and exhausted. She still couldn't believe how far she traveled by land.

"Alright I accept your offer."

Anna raised a fist in victory.

"Under one condition!" she continued, "You don't tell anyone. Not even Elsa."

"Deal."

They shook on it.

Kristoff and Anna stood up and left the guest room. As they shut the door, Kristoff turned to Anna.

"When I get back I promise I'll stay the week." He said before kissing the top of her nose and sliding out the nearest window.

"See you." Anna called after him and shut the window. She skipped softly back to her room, no longer afraid of the darkened corners of the hall.

A few doors down from Anna, Melanie was curling back under the covers. She exhaled and let darkness fill the room once more.

And for the first time in forever, she relaxed.

* * *

**Phew. More like flu. I didn't think I would be able to have another chapter ready a week from the first but when you're bedridden, what else do you do? ****Besides watch a shameful amount of Disney movies (when you should be studying *cough*).**

**Who knows, maybe I'll be able to keep up regular updates. We'll see.**

**-Pretzels**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

* * *

Anna woke up early the next morning, a rare occurrence. Maybe it was the smell of chocolate emanating from the kitchen or a cold front blowing through Arendelle but something made the redhead leap from her covers and sprint out of her room.

She was planning something that much was certain.

Melanie was still in bed, no longer awake after the rampaging ginger shot down the hall. She listened as running footsteps darted from room to room and tromping up and down spiraled staircases. Finally, after an especially loud crash of falling armor, Melanie accepted that it was time to get up.

Stifling a yawn, she made her way to the door, deciding against trying to get dressed in such an exhausted state. Just as she was reaching for the doorknob, the door swung violently open, catching her in the nose.

The princess looked down at the third nosebleed she caused in two days.

"Whatever clean it up on the way."

"Wait…what…where…"

Anna didn't answer. Instead she grabbed Melanie's hand and yanked her down the hall. The blind girl tried to keep blood from staining expensive carpet as she was pulled along corridors, around sharp turns, up stairs, through doors, even over a couple couches. Servants had to dive for cover as the duo stormed past like a runaway train. Just when it seemed like her arm socket couldn't take much more, they slowed to a stop.

"This is it." Anna breathed.

"What?" Melanie asked, extremely irritated. She was just rudely awakened from her beauty sleep, slammed into a door, blood was smeared over her face from the ungodly exercise way too early morning, and she was still in her night gown. She was not feeling too ladylike.

""We've found the Ice Queen." Anna replied, a hint of a child-like triumph in her voice.

_This girl is crazy._

Melanie waited impatiently (still unsure of what was going on) for something to happen.

There was a playful knock and she heard Anna begin to sing.

"_Elsa?"_

"_Do you wanna build a snowma-?"_

"Anna for the love of all things holy the door is unlocked!" Elsa's voice screamed exasperatedly from inside.

Melanie blinked. It didn't sound like she had gotten much sleep either.

Anna didn't seem to pay attention. She kicked open the doors and dragged Melanie after her. The temperature immediately dropped, causing her to shiver.

"What do you want, Anna?" Elsa asked bitingly.

"I just told you, I want to build a snowman." This time Anna seemed a little less sure of herself for some reason.

"No."

"Why not? You have Saturdays off!"

"Anna, my answer is no."

"What happened? You haven't been like this since the thaw!"

"Let it go, Anna." Elsa warned, voice rising in anger.

"You don't want Melanie to know, do you?"

As soon as her name registered in the blind girl's brain, she woke up, finally realizing she was about to be in the middle of an all out cat fight.

"Maybe! What is so wrong with that?"

"Elsa the whole kingdom knows! Why does it matter that she knows as well?"

"Go away Anna." The queen whispered angrily.

"No! I want you to give me an answer!"

"I said go away!" The blonde shouted.

The temperature dropped even further, causing Melanie's breath to fog up. _What's happening?, s_he wondered, wishing for the billionth time she could see.

"Don't. You. Dare. Point that thing at me." Anna's voice sliced through the air, furious and hurt.

There was a short silence before she felt Anna storm past her and grab her hand.

_What just happened?_

Elsa watched as the last of Melanie's long dark hair whipped out of sight.

She looked down at the deadly sharp icicle that was weighing her arm down like a bowling ball. Creeping ice was taking over the walls, glowing an angry red. When a flurry of wind began to tear through the shelves, she ran over and slammed the doors shut, locking them so no maids wandered in.

By then the library was completely transformed, Books were being ripped from the shelves, pages torn and damp with snow. Two inches of powder had already begun burying Elsa's feet. The harsh sleet broke against jagged clumps of ice growing on the walls and shattered into hundreds of pieces. The room was in absolute chaos.

"Stop!" the queen screamed at the storm. Instantly everything froze in place. The deep red in the ice darkened into a sinister purple as a miniature storm began in the center of the room. The spiraling crystals began clumping together and pulsating a variety of colors. The storm slowly condensed into a feminine figure. The stormy girl began striding towards Elsa. When she stopped before the queen, a fully formed human was standing before her.

She had jet-black hair, slicked backwards and upwards into a sort of triangular shape. Jagged bangs framed her angular face, chin tilted upwards in defiance. Despite the hair and awful grin, the girl looked almost exactly like Elsa. She had the same clear blue eyes, pale skin, body shape, and red lips. They were both the same height but the dark-haired girl still appeared to tower over her.

What was worse was that they shared a name

"Elsa." The original spat.

The other clicked her tongue.

"Come on now, Elsa, don't be like that. Why can't we just be friends?"

"Why are you haunting me? What do you want?"

The stormy girl sighed.

"Always to the point. Alright, let's talk business."

She waved her hand and the scene immediately changed. They were sitting in a snowy desert. Sheer whiteness stretched as far as the eye could see in every direction. A chessboard was set in front of them.

"Do you play?" Other Elsa asked.

Elsa nodded; her eyes focused on her other self in blind anger.

"White goes first."

The blonde moved a pawn.

"Always a timid player." Other Elsa said as she moved her knight.

"You didn't answer my question." Elsa pointed out stormily.

"Of course. You want to know why I appeared to you the other night, correct?"

"No," the queen hissed, "I want to know what you want."

The girl waved a hand.

"Same thing. Well here it is: I want the throne." She gestured at the white queen.

The Ice Queen opened her mouth to protest but her duplicate cut her off.

"Let me explain. When you were shut in that room for years, you were supposed to become me. But somehow you changed your fate, leaving what you should have been, me, trapped in the lingo between nonexistence and reality. You changed fate so now you have to pay. You have to give me what's mine."

"Sorry, _Your Majesty_, that it didn't work out as planned but there is no way I'd let Arendelle be ruled by the likes of you."

"As if you'd do any better. You destroyed your land's crops and planted the seed of fear in your people. You just threatened your own sister. Do you really deserve the throne?"

Elsa was silent. Other Elsa smiled and moved her other knight out, knowing she just won the opening game. The queen pushed forward a random piece.

"Here's what I propose, plain and simple, " she continued, taking her pawn.

"You let me take over, resume your life as fate originally intended. If you know what's in store for you in the coming months you would agree that it would be best. You're simply not strong enough to handle the challenges being sent your way. You can't run yourself, much less a kingdom. Give into me now and I can make it all go away."

"Not in a million years." Elsa replied, capturing a bishop with her knight.

"I thought you might say that." Other Elsa took revenge on the knight.

"If you don't give into me, I will declare war on your soul," she stated simply, "That means nightmares, appearances like this, and as you weaken hopefully possession. I will make your life miserable until you bow to me. It won't take long until you give in."

The dark-haired girl moved her queen forward. Most of their other pieces had already disappeared.

"I'll shut you out. I'm good at that." The blonde countered bitterly, matching her queen to her opponent's.

"That may be true, but with the combined effort of what's to come and my presence, you will have no chance but to let me take control. You'll grow tired of taking care of your king." Other Elsa gestured to the chess piece, "your weak point will have to fall for the white queen to survive in this game."

"What king? Everyone I know is just as strong as me, if not stronger." The queen moved a rook in front of her king.

The other girl just smiled.

"Soon you'll have a choice: Protect your king or protect your kingdom. When you decide know that you have a third option. Let me take over and I will save both. Without me there is no way you can succeed. Anna and everyone you know will die by your hands."

Elsa looked down at the board. A graveyard of white pieces lay in front of her opponent. Her queen stood alone, shielding the king from a small group of black pieces. Other Elsa had already won.

The snake of a girl waved her hand. The pieces were immediately reset, this time the white queen had changed from light to dark.

"Give in to me and no one dies."

The queen stared at the game. She didn't know what to choose. Give in to this…alternate her and completely lose herself to this thief but possibly save everything she knows and loves or resist and watch her sister and friends struggle to survive from these mysterious challenges.

The dark queen tapped her finger impatiently. "I see you need some time to think it over. I expect an answer tonight."

And with a snap, the scene dissolved.

Elsa was standing alone in the library. Books were back in the shelves and a fire was roaring in the fireplace. A chessboard was carefully centered on the oak table.

She stared into the large mirror above the fireplace, trying not to imagine her twin with black hair.

_How could I be so stupid? Of course I need to give in! How could I think for a second to save myself and let my kingdom and Anna be destroyed? I had a chance to do something to end their problems today and I passed it up. Tonight I'll give her my answer and everyone will be all right. I'll tell Anna not to be mad when I become this Other Elsa. She'll understand. Even Anna knows what's right for the kingdom. I just have to focus on being brave._

She took a deep breath to control her nerves.

"She gave me a day to think," Elsa whispered to herself, "I'll use that time to build one last snowman."

* * *

**Ugh, I wrote this almost a month ago and for some reason I never found the time to even upload it. Well, here it is now. Sorry for the delay.**

**I might end up putting this story on hold to play around with another prompt, we'll see. **

**-Pretzels**


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